Chapter 3 BEWITCHED BY THE FULL MOON

CHAPTER THREE

No, he did not. As he'd indicated to Jaques earlier, Kyle hadn't much contact with the winged ones. Marriage seemed a bit much to ask. On the other hand, a sacrifice or handing over one's firstborn seemed more extreme.

The poor wolf who had to step forward to marry some faery he'd never seen before would certainly not like it.

Yes, someone had to witness their wedding-night bonding. Bee shivered at the thought of performing the sexual act with a witness. Faeries were big on ceremony and the observance of royal deeds. And since her father was the Unseelie king, that made her wedding a Big Deal.

Not that she'd ever felt remotely princess-like. Shouldn't a girl's father, at the very least, show up for her wedding?

She ran her fingertips over her embroidered and bepearled pink gown. Beneath the gossamer layers she felt the blade she always wore strapped to her thigh. Growing up in Faery as a half-breed should have been a wonderful thing. The sidhe embraced half-breeds; they even sought to procreate with most other breeds to create such progeny. With all but the darkest, which included demons and vampires.

Bee's non-sidhe half-of which she wasn't clear what it was, though certainly she'd assumed it vampire-had made her a pariah among her own. Through his inattention, her father had made it very clear she disgusted him. Which explained why he'd been so eager to offer her as a seal to this bargain with the Valour pack.

"Unwanted and unloved," she whispered. "And now I've been thrust into a realm that frightens me and will be forced to live with a wolf I don't know."

A shiver traced her skin and she wrapped her arms across her chest in a hug that felt more pitiful than comforting.

There was a bright side to look at. She'd always dreamed about escaping her father's household.

"Perhaps I'll like the mortal realm," she decided. "And maybe my husband will even grow to like me."

Turning to gaze back toward the celebration, her wings fluttered and she had the thought to fold them away. Wings and sex, well...she wasn't ready for such soul-deep intimacy with the new husband. Stones, she just hoped to get through the evening without saying something stupid or landing in an awkward sprawl on the bed.

She spied her husband near the feast table, speaking confidently to another wolf she guessed was a good friend, for he had stood beside Kylan during the ceremony. Kyle Salvador. She wondered about his surname. What did it mean? It felt honorable and bold as she whispered it.

Kylan stood the tallest amid the crowd save for a few sidhe. He held his head proudly, shoulders back. Soft brown hair curled about his head, and a slightly darker beard and mustache framed his long face. A regal nose. And ears tight to his head. No points, though, Bee noted as she stroked the gently pointed tip of her ear. So she'd learn to like him despite that physical fault.

A hand-tooled black leather vest stretched across a broad, muscled chest, and his leather pants wrapped muscular thighs that she imagined often ran through the forest, both in man form and as a wolf. The sprig of dandelion in the boutonniere he wore at his breast pocket portended faithfulness.

If only she could get so lucky. She touched the blue anemone in her hair. Chosen for luck.

Bee sighed. Her husband looked like every woman's dream of the rescuing knight. All he needed was the white stallion and a suit of silver armor.

And perhaps he should look into that set of armor. Because she was armed and would not allow anyone to harm her. If he turned out to be an aggressive, demanding wolf, she would have to put him in his place. No one from this realm was going to mess with her. She'd had enough practice sticking up for herself that she never took a step without first casting a look over her shoulder.

After wandering into the wedding cottage, Bee sighed and plopped onto the end of the massive bed. She stroked the bond mark on the back of her hand. The first seal. Sex would close their bond.

She inched her gown up along her leg, and, from the thigh strap, she tugged out a gleaming violet blade and stabbed it into the tree branch that formed the canopy bed frame.

"Please let him be kind," she whispered.

Kyle stumbled into the wedding tent. He'd put back a few drinks but hadn't thought he was drunk. Must have been that tree root at the threshold. Although, the honey mead had been some powerful stuff. Whew! He and Jaques had done a couple mead shots before Etienne had suggested he go seek out his bride.